Women’s Rugby Downs Harvard in Non-Conference Action, 41-10

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – It was all Quinnipiac University in Tuesday night's NCAA rugby match as the Bobcats handed Harvard University a 41-10 loss in the Crimson's very first varsity competition. Sophomore Natalie Kosko (Sebastian, Fla.) collected three tries and Maggie Myles (Emmitsburg, Md.) added two, leading Quinnipiac to its fourth win of the season at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge, Mass.

"It was a great night of NCAA rugby under the lights," said head coach Becky Carlson, who collected her 21st career win in the match. "Harvard capitalized on some early energy but by half time we were able to iron out our offense and it all came together."

The tantalizing tandem of Kosko and Myles got the party started for Quinnipiac when Kosko received a toss from Myles and punched it in for a 5-0 lead. A mere five minutes later, Myles made it 10-0 with her first try of the game and then tacked on two more points with the conversion for a 12-0 advantage. Elena Orlando (Winters, Calif.) was credited with the assist on the play.

The Bobcats needed just 10 minutes before striking again, as Myles found Kosko who converted her second try of the game for a 17-0 lead. After that, it was freshman Hailey Wyatt (Breckenridge, Colo.), who capped off a 22-0 run with her first try of the game.

After Harvard's very first points in program history, Quinnipiac rattled off 12 straight to increase its margin to 29, 34-5. Devon Vieira (Kent, Wash.) put the Bobcats in front, 27-5; and then Kosko completed the trifecta with her third try of the game. Myles assisted Kosko on the play and then added two more with the conversion.

Harvard (0-1) crossed the goal line for a second time, but it was too little too late for the Crimson. Nancy Dunn (Moscow, Pa.) put the icing on the cake with a great tackle to knock the ball loose, which in turn, resulted in Quinnipiac's seventh try of the game. Myles completed the play with her second try of the game.

Quinnipiac, now 3-1 on the season, collected its 18th win in its last 20 matches. Quinnipiac has recorded double-digit wins in 16 of those games, one of which was a 2-1 victory in a best-of-three Rugby Sevens match-up at Eastern Illinois.

Harvard, along with Davenport University, recently joined Quinnipiac, Norwich, Bowdoin, West Chester and Eastern Illinois as an NCAA varsity women's rugby program this year. Harvard women's rugby is the 42nd varsity sport in Harvard's history and the 20th women's sport overall. The match-up with Quinnipiac marked their very first match as a varsity sport.

Quinnipiac returns to action this weekend with the team's home-opener at the Alumni Rugby Field on Mount Carmel Campus. The Bobcats will take on New England foe and Northeast Rugby Conference affiliate American International College at 12 p.m. Bobcat fans can access live video - with play-by-play and color commentary provided by QBSN - by clicking on the appropriate links at QuinnipiacBobcats.com or by visiting YouTube.com/quinnipiacathletics, clicking on "Videos" and then "Events".

Student-athletes, parents and fans can download the QU Athletics schedules to your laptop and mobile devices for free by clicking in the iCalendar link at the bottom of each sport's homepage or the master schedule page. Fans can also follow Quinnipiac Athletics on Facebook and Twitter (@QUAthletics) for all of the latest news and updates.